6 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

Laura Locoul Gore wrote these memoirs in 1936 at the age of 70 of growing up in aristocratic South Louisiana on a sugar plantation named for her. A poignant picture of that life from the Civil War thru 1891 when she left to begin her married life. A must for the Southern historian, particularly Louisiana history.

We toured the Laura Plantation back in 2001 and I purchased this book in the gift shop. I couldn't put it down! Laura wrote her memoirs so that her children would understand her early life on a sugarcane plantation. In these memoirs, Laura discusses how her great-grandparents obtained the land, how the property was run, and the lives and deaths of many of her family members. She describes fabulous parties in New Orleans and how she met her husband. The second part of the book is filled with additional information gathered by the Marmillions as they researched the Plantation's history. The book is full of photographs of Laura, her family, the plantation, historic papers, and personal items. This is a wonderful opportunity for a personal glimpse into Creole Plantation life.

I purchased this book at the gift shop at Laura Plantation, which was named after the author. From the very beginning, Laura sweeps you back into her Creole childhood. Memories introduces all of the owners of the plantation home and their stories and then Laura preceeds to tell you her story and how she came to own it and leave it. After a visit back to the home in her later years with her children, she decided to write down all of the memories that were coming back to her as her children had a vast thirst for what she had come from. Laura also wanted her children to understand why she chose to leave the Creole life behind.
Included are small anecdotes of the families/plantations near their home as well of her stories from her time in New Orleans when she served as a maid for the Rex Krewe ball one Mardi Gras season. It is a excetionally well-written memoir and a must-read for any history buff, visitor to the Laura Plantation (best tour of the River Road plantations IMHO) or someone that loves old plantation homes.